Local wrestlers compete at Clinton's Dave Elliott Invitational

Sunday

Jan 5, 2014 at 9:00 AM

Manchester wins title, Madison 3rd at 39th annual event

By Ed PatinoDaily Telegram Special Writer

The rise continues for the Madison High School wrestling team.

With their seniors leading the charge, the Trojans led all county teams Saturday by placing third at the 39th annual Dave Elliott Memorial Wrestling Invitational before a packed house at Clinton High School.

Madison scored 168 team points to place third in the individual tournament. Manchester won the event with 280.5 points, while Clio was second with 220 points. Coldwater placed fourth with 135.5 points and Michigan Center took fifth with 108 points. Onsted finished sixth (96.5) and Whittemore-Prescott was seventh (93). Napoleon finished eighth (91.5) while Blissfield was ninth (90) and the host Redskins placed 10th.

Morenci had three wrestlers compete and did not post a team score.

The Trojans had three individual champions and six others earn medals.

"Every week we're getting better, and people are starting to notice that we're doing the right things on the mat," Madison coach Scott Hall said. "This tournament means a lot to the county, and to finish in one of the top spots is special to us."

Isaiah Espinoza went 4-0 to win the 140-pound weight class. The senior clinched his title with a 3-1 decision over Clio's Matt Dewyer. Espinoza improved to 21-3 on the season.

Austin Wilt and Nick Klemm both finished 3-0 to win their divisions. Wilt scored a 6-2 decision over Manchester's Nick Dettling to clinch the 125-pound title, while Klemm overcame a knee injury to outlast Prescott's Dakota Findlay for a 6-2 decision in the 145-pound final.

Wilt is now 23-1 on the season, while Klemm moved his record to 17-5.

"Austin has wrestled solid all year for us and scores points when he needs to," Hall said. "Isaiah beat a ranked kid which is exciting and shows what kind of heart he has. Nick battled injuries today and showed his character. He wants to finish out his career the right way."

Aaron Pifer (152) and Jake Hamilton (160) both went 3-1 to place third in their respective weight classes. Garrett VanSickle (171) and Dayton Klama (112) took fourth for the Trojans, while Richard Cleese (215) and Dan McKenzie (285) both finished fifth.

Ben Pickford led the way for Onsted, finishing as runner-up in the 135-pound weight class. The senior scored victories over Luke Fruchey (Blissfield), Kollin Panek (Clio) and Dan Barta (Blissfield) before falling to Clio's Chase Smith in the finals by a 17-4 major decision.

"Ben has come along very well, and we hope to see that continue the rest of the way," Onsted coach Dave Pearce said. "There are some good teams in this tournament, and this is big for us when it comes to district seeding."

Isaac Westgate took fourth for the Wildcats at 125 pounds. Thomas Kast (140), Eric Baiz (145) and Braxton Hella (189) each went 4-1 on the day and placed fifth in their respective divisions.

"Eric was giving up 10 pounds in his weight class and to see him medal was impressive," Pearce said. "We're inexperienced and still have some things to work on, but we're coming along."

Cavin Beckey and Dakota Underwood both finished runner up in their weight classes to lead Blissfield. Beckey went 2-1 in the 130-pound division, scoring wins over Christian Deaton and Kyler Milosh (Michigan Center) before dropping a tough 6-1 decision to Manchester's Brock Vlcek in the finals. Underwood (215) also went 2-1, defeating Jacob Stahl (Pinckney) and Austin Swaenepoel (Napoleon) before Manchester's Iain Neff caught him for a pin in 3:46.

"Dakota and Cavin wrestled well all day," Blissfield coach Andy Ford said. "We've wrestled in a lot of team tournaments, but we need to have some individual tournaments, as well, so this was important."

Noah Nieman (145) fought through illness to place fourth for the Royals, while Barta also took fourth at 135 pounds. Freshman Andy Smith placed sixth and earned a medal in the 130-pound class.

"The guys wrestled tough and had a good effort," Ford said. "The only disappointment for us was we didn't win a match in the finals, and that's the closest thing to the pressure of a district and regional tournament."

Zech Johnston (119) finished as runner-up to lead Clinton. The junior scored victories over Devan Milish (Michigan Center) and Mohamed Aljabaly (Coldwater) before running into nationally-ranked Mason Smith of Clio. Despite an early takedown, Johnston fell to Smith by a 15-0 technical fall.

"Zech came back to win his match in the semifinals and went after a nationally ranked kid," Clinton coach Jeff Rolland said. "Clio and Manchester have been on a roll the last few years, and it's good for our younger kids to see where they have to be."

Nick Rolland (152) and Kamdan Ward (160) both finished 2-2 and placed fourth in their divisions. Fletcher Mellinger (112) and Brett Tschirhart (215) both earned sixth-place medals for the Redskins.

Alex Pless (135) and Cody Tuel (189) both finished with 2-2 records for Morenci, while Chase Linden dropped two tough matches in the 171-pound class.

"It's been three weeks since we had a tournament, so we need to get back in the swing of things," Morenci coach Jeff Nofzinger said. "It was good for us to get into a more sizeable tournament and gain experience."